PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION INTO ANTIMYCOPLASMAL ACTIVITY OF TRADITIONALLY USED NIGERIAN PLANTS

Abstract

Mycoplasma species are fastidious organisms that require a specialized medium for their growth, isolation and identification. The use of antibiotics in the treatment of Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) caused by these organisms has been discouraged because it promotes the persistence of healthy carrier animals (1). To the best of our knowledge, there is no documented research evidence of the efficacy of medicinal plants on the Mycoplasma spp. The aim of the present work was to screen medicinal plants used traditionally for possible antimycoplasmal effects which can be explored for the development of alternative antimycoplasmal agents. Acetone extracts of twenty-one Nigerian medicinal plants were evaluated on isolates of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp mycoides SC, using a microtitre plate method (2) and a new pH dependant (metabolic inhibition) method described for the first time by the authors. The extracts were also assessed for their cytotoxicity using the colorimetric method (3) and antioxidant properties using the traditional DPPH method and an easy-to-perform quantitative method, which was also described for the first time by the authors. The Calotropis procera extract had a good minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.08 mg/ml and minimum cidal concentration of 0.16 mg/ml which was better than the drug commonly used in the field. The extract was less cytotoxic with LC50 of 0.204 mg/ml compared to enrofloxacin with values of 0.017 mg/ml and 0.0062 mg/ml respectively. There were also the presence of alkaloid, saponin, tannins, resins, cardiac glycoside, steroidal rings and flavonoids. It is concluded that the extract of C. procera is worth investigating for the development of a potent agent against CBPP which has for long defied solutions by conventional chemotherapy. Acknowledgement: NVRI, Vom, Nigeria, NRF, South Africa. [References: 1]. FAO (1967). Report of the meeting of the FAO/OIE/OAU expert panel on contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, Khartoum, Sudan, 12-15 February. [2] Eloff, J.N. (1998). Planta Medica, 64: 711-713. [3]. Mosmann, T.J (1983). Journal of Immunol. Methods, 65, 55–63.